Tobacco Control and International Trade in Africa

Representatives from 13 African countries learn new skills to fight the deadly tobacco trade

Nairobi, Kenya — The American Cancer Society organised an international trade and tobacco control workshop from July 26–28, in Kenya’s capital city. The three-day workshop convened lawyers specializing in international trade law, tobacco-control advocates, representatives from non-governmental organizations involved in international trade law issues in Africa, representatives of the World Health Organization’s Tobacco Free Initiative and the United Nations Commission on International Trade as well as facilitators from Marquette University, the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University Law Center, and the Geneva-based Union for International Cancer Control.

Participants hailed from 13 countries in Africa including  Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo , Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Nigeria Senegal, South Africa, Togo,  and Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia.

The workshop leaders presented sessions addressing three key topics:

• The terms of the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) and its guidelines

• Basic legal and institutional features of the World Trade Organization (WTO), regional trade bodies specific to Africa and international investment agreements

• Arguments made by the tobacco industry that draw on international trade and investment laws as well as the counterarguments that can be made by civil society

Participants discussed national and regional  economic blocs in Africa, namely the East African Community (EAC), the South African Development Community (SADC), the South African Customs Union, the Common Market for East and Central Africa (COMESA), the Economic Community of West African States,  (ECOWAS), the West African Economic and Monetary Union, (WAEMU) as well as opportunities and challenges for tobacco control and economic integration by these blocs.

The participants also were introduced to the provisions of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade, the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and provisions within international investment agreements used by the tobacco industry to challenge tobacco control measures globally, and most recently in Africa in the run up to the 4th Conference of the Parties of the FCTC held in Uruguay in November 2010.

Workshop debates focused on concrete examples of the theory presented such as the legal challenge filed by Indonesia against the United States ban on clove cigarettes, complaints raised against bans on flavored tobacco products by Brazil and Canada at the Technical Barriers to Trade Committee and TRIPS Council at the WTO, as well as the complaint raised by Phillip Morris Asia under a bilateral investment treaty concerning Australia's move to enact legislation to introduce plain packaging of tobacco products. Discussions among the participants highlighted how health exceptions to the trade law concept of non-discrimination under the GATT, and flexibilities in the TRIPS, could be used to defend these challenges on health grounds.

The participants wrapped up three days of hard work by identifying further actions to move the agenda on tobacco control and trade forward.

Comments

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[Violet]

Actually, this is a really good alrcite. I remember one show where a fantastic watercolor painter's booth was jammed packed with people. However, he was sitting down working on a water color painting. He didn't look up at anybody or talk to anybody. So needless to say, never saw him sell one piece.When doing a booth, I make sure that I smile, joke with the people, get out of my chair, etc However, my issue is the closing of the sale. Would love to see an alrcite about that.

[Rrhiezqha]

I understand peftlcrey! I recently attended a street fair/art show in my capital city. It was a big deal in our art -deprived little state (WV), yet not one artist spoke to me or even looked up as we strolled through the tents. There were a few artists that I would loved to have spoken with about their art, but most, if not all, of them really gave off an air of general snootiness. One (very well-known) artist was a man who's work I was familiar with, having had him as an art teacher in high school. He sat there in his little beret and read a book didn't even look up when I spoke his name!The only art I bought that day was a notebook with a hand-painted cover that was made by an eight-year-old. She was raising money for a local kids' center, and she was a lot of fun and willing to talk about her art:)

[parliament cigarettes]

You hit comprehend out of the most construction topics.

[Margarita]

Easy: Too many industries would lose $ $ $ .It's easy to grow. Jeez, you can throw seeds out on your lawn and they'll abobprly grow.Here's a list of industry that would/could be damaged:Government Tyranny (War on Drugs)Liberty Stealers (Police)Prison-Industrial complexCottonCorn (ethanol)Tree/WoodPharmaceuticalAlcoholTobaccoBig Oiljust to name a few

[feed in tariff]

This is a great way to spread information about the deadly health effects of tobacco and how it can result to cancer. I hope these kinds of conventions would make way for the development of laws in Africa.

[Philippe]

Who were the participants? What's next?